First, I would highly recommend anyone who wants to venture offshore to take the Coastguard courses! There is a lot of good information that can be learned! Could save a life or two, also!
I am assuming you have the "Rio Classic"? You kind of tell me that when you say deadrise is 14 degrees.
I quote, "An all-purpose hull—a common compromise—has a dead-rise angle of about 15 degrees." An 18 foot Trophy Walkaround has a deadrise of 16 degrees, so your deadrise is fine. The deeper-V hulls just provide a softer ride cutting through choppier waters, but it is a trade off. They are more reluctant to rise onto a plane, so we have more of a tendency to "plow" our way through chop. Your deeper V at the bow will allow the hull to cut through waves, while the flatter sections aft make for more efficient planning. You will actually get tossed around more than me while running, but less then me while trolling, as my hull does have a lot deeper V. You have a nice boat and correct me, but isn't your freeboard between 30-34 inches? I am not looking it up, but it does mean you have plenty of freeboard provided you aren't overloaded.
The general rule of thumb is a boat can safely handle "SEA STATES" up to 20-30 percent of their length. Therefore, with a 21-foot boat, the boat can safely handle up to 7.5 foot seas. This is seas, not swells. Swells are not really the issue.
"Swells refer to the actual size of the ocean waves. If there are swells of 10-12 feet, then there are large non-breaking waves that measure an average of 10-12 feet from the bottom of the trough to the top of the swell. Seas usually refers to the overall conditions in the ocean, such as calm seas or heavy seas. Rough seas are some combination of high swells and high winds. " I would throw the higher the winds, the greater the wind waves on top of the swells which creates rougher seas, into that definition?
So by design, YOUR BOAT is fine to handle up to Sea State 4, which is 1.25-2.5 meters, which equates to 20 knot winds:
http://www.eustis.army.mil/WEATHER/Weather_Products/seastate.htm That puts you right at the "Strong Wind Warning"
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/weather/marine/pacific_e.html You are just as safe in your boat as any other 21 footer out there and your ride will not be that much different! I would be comfortable on your boat in those conditions all day long. And I have been out there in a whole lot worse!
So, to answer your question, you shouldn't go out with over 20 knot winds, unless you really know what you are doing! You should also not exceed your personal limitations or qualifications, either?
